2010 Volkswagen CC 2.0T R-Line

First place: Between a Rock and a Grand Place.

Volkswagen expects to become the world’s biggest automaker. How? An aggressive new model in almost every niche, including the almost nonexistent, newly found “four-door coupe” niche that Mercedes-Benz has so earnestly plumbed with its CLS. Think of the VW CC—a reskinned Passat—as the workingman’s CLS. It sure looks the part.

Alas, this is another comparo in which the car producing the least power and torque emerges victorious. C/D readers are inveterate rock throwers, and we can already hear them sprinting toward quarries nationwide. So, please examine the numbers. To 30 mph, the CC lagged merely 0.1 second behind the 80-horse-stronger Acura and was only 0.4 second behind it to 60 mph. Just as impressive, the CC absolutely annihilated the competition in the telling 30-to-50-mph top-gear test. That it was by far the lightest of our participants helped. That it achieved the best fuel economy is simply a tribute to conscientious engineering. If Buick is looking to perfect its four-cylinder turbo, it should look no further than VW’s version: quiet, smooth, responsive, and emanating subtle whirrings that will have you confusing it for a small V-6. Or a turbine. No matter what, it never sounds like a cheap four-banger.

The CC’s “bests” clogged the floodgates: best skidpad grip, best ergonomics, best fit and finish, best exterior styling, best interior styling, best handling, best transmission, best steering, best as-tested price, and best driver comfort. So enticing was the front-passenger seat that photographer Marc Urbano selected it for nearly every minute of our 900-mile Granot Loma odyssey.

“This is the only car that invited me to have fun,” wrote one driver. “Just a lovely, smooth, fleet-footed cruiser,” offered another. “The light steering is more precise and tracks better than the Buick’s. A light touch to all the primary controls. Perfectly bolstered seats. A suspension that seems to hunker down as speed mounts. And a dual-clutch transmission that shifts three ways to Sunday but always with West Point precision.”

By no means is the CC perfect. Those who require a five-passenger sedan will have to forgo the four-only CC. The alluring roofline and high beltline squash the window apertures and do damage to front interior volume. Encountering large pavement whoop-de-doos, the platform sometimes shivers. And the silver-toned accent that sweeps the length of the dashboard looks, well, pretty low-rent.

Otherwise, the VW emerges a 14-point victor. “I called our long-term Audi A4 a ‘VW GTI for grown-ups,’ ” said Gluckman. “Maybe I should have applied that description to the CC.”